Archive for February, 2011

Just back from a holiday in India. It was my 10th trip there (usually for concerts, so wonderful just to be there to relax), and India becomes ever more beguiling and complex and beautiful. We met lots of people, travelled to tiny remote villages rarely visited by tourists, ate some of the most exquisite food imaginable, and stayed at the Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur which I’ve wanted to visit for over 20 years. It’s an interesting time for India, as they emerge as an ever more wealthy nation on the world scene, and foreign investment is pouring into the country often with no regard for the effect that dams and factories will have on the environment. We asked lots of Indians what their favourite and least favourite things about their country were – family and traditions were often listed as the best things, and corruption always as the worst. Took the opportunity to do a lot of Indian CD listening during the many car/train/plane journies – those musicians are SO extraordinary! My favourite remains Amjad Ali Khan, whose improvisations are so perfect as to be simply dazzling. Already looking forward to the 11th trip.

Leave your thoughts on this entry. Click the title, or on Comments below.